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Recording Audiobooks

I make my living with my voice. It’s not the way I would have thought things would turn out, but it’s true. I spend 40 hours a week talking to people. I’ve been doing it longer than I ever thought I would, and even though I’m not always thrilled about it, I have to say I’ve gotten pretty good at it.What’s always surprised me, though, is the recurring compliment I’ve gotten fairly regularly since I started down this road: ‘You’ve got such a nice voice!’

At first, I wrote it off. I’m naturally nice when I talk to people (while many in my field aren’t), so I thought it was something people said just to be polite. But over the years, the compliments kept coming. Finally, I realized maybe these random people out in the world were right; if they were, how could I use that to my advantage?

I got interested in the world of voice acting and voiceovers, and bought books that helped you craft your voice and learn how to read copy. But in the grand scheme of things, my timing was pretty bad; had I gotten into that field a few years earlier, it may have been a different story.

Jump to the present, and I’m back to my original love and writing again. As I’ve looked at my options for publication of my novella, it appears not a lot of indie publishers deal with audiobooks. So even if I find a publisher, I may well have to do the audiobook myself. That’s exciting to me.

I’ve looked at ACX, and it seems surprisingly legit — which makes me skeptical. Unless something changes my mind in the next month or two, I will probably go ahead with them anyway, because I don’t know what other options I have. Does anyone else out there have any experience turning their book into an audiobook? Did you do it yourself or hire a professional?

You know, I don’t typically read out loud, but when I’m going over my own writing I’ll sit and read it aloud. It really helps me spot words or phrases that don’t really sound right. And you’ve only heard my voice if you forgot to pay your electric bill. 🙂

Kenneth, This i pretty cool. I am not familiar with how to publish audiobooks, but I do like to listen to them espcecially on long trips. I hope it works out for you. God bless, Maria from Delight Directed Living

About

Kenneth Jobe is a Native Californian living in the Midwest with his wife and their dog. He is the author of several short stories that have been published in the likes of Jitter Magazine, The Rusty Nail, and the horror anthology Robbed of Sleep, Volume 2, and is currently seeking publication of his first novel as he works toward completing the second.

He is also co-host of the music podcast The Ringing Ear, and webmaster of its host site, KillBoringMusic.com, featuring album and concert reviews, and podcast episodes. Take a visit for all your non-boring music needs.